WILD    DUCKS 


WILD  DUCKS 

HOW  TO  REAR  AND  SHOOT 
THEM 


BY 

CAPTAIN  W.    COAPE  OATES 


WITH  4  PHOTOGRAVURE  PLATES  FROM  DRAWINGS 

BY  G.  E.  LODGE,  AND  12  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,   AND   CO. 

39  PATERNOSTER  ROW,  LONDON 

NEW  YORK  AND   BOMBAY 

1905 

All  lights  pjs^ryed  ,j,    •  >  • 


TO 

MY    WIFE 


281766 


PREFACE 

THE  main  object  of  this  book  is  to  assist 
those  who  are  anxious  to  rear  wild  ducks 
on  economical  lines.  The  Author  is  not 
without  hope  that  the  pages  which  it  con- 
tains may  even  be  of  some  use  to  old 
hands  at  the  game. 


vii 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  SELECTION    OF     STOCK    AND 

THEIR   HOME       .         .         .         .13 

II.  LAYING   AND    SITTING  ...     25 

III.  HATCHING   AND    REARING  .         .     41 

IV.  SHOOTING  .  61 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PHOTOGRAVURE    PLATES 
From  Drawings  by  G.  E.  LODGE 

THE   FLEET   AT   FLIGHT   TIME         .         .  Frontispiece 

ON   GUARD To  face  p.  25 

A  TIDY   MOTHER ,,         33 

QUITE   TALL   ENOUGH         .         .         .         .  „         61 

FROM    PHOTOGRAPHS 

COMING   IN  TO  FEED          ....  16 

THE   CAGE      .                  ,,20 

THE   REARING   PADDOCK  ....  ,,41 

A  SMALL  RUN „        46 

WARE   WIRE! 48 

WIRED   IN   ON   THE   WATER      .         .         .  „         51 

AN  INEFFECTIVE   CRIPPLE   STOPPER      .  „         64 

BEFORE   THE    EVENING   MEAL          .  „         67 

A   RIGHT  AND   LEFT 69 

AT  THE  END   OF  THE  DAY     ...  ,,7° 

COMING   ON  A   SIDE  WIND         ...  ,,         73 

LADIES    IN   WAITING    .  ,,74 


SELECTION   OF   STOCK   AND 
THEIR   HOME 


WILD     DUCKS 

CHAPTER   I 

SELECTION    OF    STOCK    AND    THEIR    HOME 

THE  first  point  to  be  decided  by  the  would- 
be  owner  of  wild-fowl  is  the  locality  where 
he  intends  to  turn  down  his  stock. 

Wild-fowl  can  undoubtedly  be  reared  far 
from  any  large  piece  of  water,  but  I  am 
strongly  of  opinion  that  birds  do  better  on 
a  good-sized  stretch  of  water  with  a  stream 
running  into  it  and  out  of  it.  Given  these 
advantages,  the  running  water  must  be  con- 
stantly bringing  a  fresh  supply  of  food, 
especially  after  a  fall  of  rain  sufficiently 
heavy  to  cause  a  rise  of  water ;  further, 
if  the  stream  which  runs  out  of  our  lake 
empties  itself  into  a  large  river,  the  latter 
will,  when  it  floods  or  rises  rapidly,  cause 


c. 

14  WILD  DUCKS 

our  stream  to  back  up  and  bring  in  a  further 
supply  of  food  from  the  main  river. 

Some  morning  the  ducks  are  absent  from 
their  accustomed  haunts,  and  if  we  walk  up 
to  the  spot  where  the  stream  enters  the  lake, 
ten  to  one  we  shall  find  our  birds  there 
thoroughly  enjoying  some  duck  -  weed  or 
other  food  swept  down  by  a  rise  in  the 
water. 

This  supply  of  fresh  food  is  a  gratifying 
source  of  economy  to  the  grain  bill  at  the 
end  of  the  year,  and  it  is  most  fascinating  to 
watch  the  birds  "  standing  on  their  heads " 
in  their  endeavours  to  reach  this  change  of 
diet. 

Another  great  advantage,  too,  is  that  a 
far  higher  percentage  of  fertile  eggs  will 
be  obtained  if  the  ducks  have  a  large  piece 
of  water  at  their  disposal. 

Given  these  advantages,  it  is,  however, 
most  necessary  for  the  birds  to  have  some 
shelter  near  the  lake,  both  as  a  protection 
against  the  weather  and  to  serve  as  suitable 
nesting  places. 

Nothing,  for  instance,  could  be  better 
than  a  stackyard  or  paddock  in  the  vicinity 


SELECTION  OF  STOCK  15 

of  the  water,  and  if  the  paddock  is  bounded 
by  a  flood  bank  or  tall  hedge,  giving  shelter 
from  the  prevailing  wind,  so  much  the  better. 

Ducks  love  to  nest  in  stacks,  and  I  have 
known  a  pinioned  bird  work  her  way  up  the 
side  of  a  stack  and  make  her  nest  fifteen  feet 
from  the  ground.  In  stacks  birds  can  burrow 
so  deep  that  no  weather,  however  inclement, 
can  damage  the  eggs. 

Outhouses  too  are  very  favourite  places 
for  ducks  to  lay  in ;  also  old  stick  heaps  and 
the  bottom  of  thick  hedges.  My  main  point 
is  this,  that  if  you  take  the  trouble  to  re- 
gularly feed  your  wild  ducks  morning  and 
evening  and  keep  them  quiet,  you  will  soon 
find  that  you  can  get  them  to  lay  where  you 
want  them  to  lay,  and  the  places  you  select 
will  naturally  be  those  where  they  are  secure, 
or  nearly  so,  from  their  natural  enemies, 
such  as  rats,  cats,  weasels,  moles,  and  other 
vermin. 

This  is  the  first  secret  of  success. 

I  have  seen  wild  ducks  so  tame  that  within 
a  fortnight  from  the  time  they  first  joined 
my  own  birds  they  were  eating  maize  close 
to  my  feet. 


1 6  WILD  DUCKS 

Having  obtained  my  piece  of  water  and 
decided  on  the  spot  where  I  mean  to  feed 
my  birds,  the  next  step  is  to  get  the  breed- 
ing stock. 

I  consider  that  the  best  time  to  purchase 
the  stock  is  December,  as  this  gives  ample 
time  for  the  birds  to  pair  and  get  used  to 
their  surroundings  before  the  breeding  season 
commences  ;  one  is  almost  sure  to  get  some 
cold  weather  in  January,  and  the  cold  will 
make  the  birds  more  dependent  on  the  food 
given  to  them,  and  therefore  more  easily 
managed. 

Next  as  to  the  stock  and  where  to  get  it. 

I  advise  you  to  obtain  your  birds  from 
different  places,  two  or  three  birds  from 
each  place,  taking  care  to  get  fairly  young 
birds,  and  not  older  than,  say,  two  years. 
By  this  means  you  will  get  a  certain  amount 
of  change  of  blood,  particularly  during  the 
second  season,  when  the  different  broods, 
which  have  been  well  mixed  at  hatching 
time,  pick  their  mates  and  breed. 

I  believe  that  this  method  is  more  satis- 
factory than  buying  eggs  in  the  first  instance, 
as  in  the  latter  case  you  cannot  tell  for  certain 


SELECTION  OF  STOCK  17 

how  long  the  eggs  you  purchase  have  been 
laid,  nor  what  the  birds  are  like  which  laid 
them.  We  next  come  to  the  question  of 
the  proportion  of  drakes  to  ducks.  On  a 
small  piece  of  water,  one  drake  to  every 
three  ducks  will  do  very  well,  but  if  you 
have  at  your  disposal  a  large  lake,  I  am 
strongly  in  favour  of  plenty  of  drakes,  say 
fifteen  drakes  to  every  twenty  ducks.  Most 
of  the  birds  will  pair,  though  occasionally 
one  finds  as  many  as  three  drakes  paying 
court  to  one  duck,  and  one  drake  taking 
away  two  or  even  three  ducks. 

It  will  generally  be  found,  however,  that 
if  any  of  your  ducks  are  without  mates,  wild 
birds  will  soon  come  and  pair  with  them, 
and  this  is,  of  course,  just  what  you  want. 
I  have  adopted  this  principle  for  some  time, 
and  practically  all  the  eggs  collected  are 
fertile.  It  will  be  found  that  at  times — 
particularly  whilst  the  ducks  are  sitting — 
the  drakes  are  a  great  nuisance,  but  at  this 
period  one  can  always  catch  them  and  shut 
them  up. 

The  next  point  to  be  considered  is  as  to 
what  food  is  best  for  breeding  birds,  and  I 


1 8  WILD  DUCKS 

say  unhesitatingly  maize.  There  is  practi- 
cally no  waste,  and  you  have  not  the  morti- 
fication of  seeing  crowds  of  sparrows  swoop 
down  on  your  ducks'  food  as  you  turn  away. 

Better  still,  ducks  lay  capitally  on  maize, 
and  you  may  calculate  on  obtaining  an  aver- 
age of  twenty-three  to  twenty-four  eggs 
apiece  from  your  ducks  if  fed  carefully. 

You  will  find  that  strange  ducks  when 
they  first  join  your  own  will  not  eat  maize, 
though  they  soon  take  to  it  when  they  see 
your  own  birds  feeding. 

It  is  easy  to  tell  the  advent  of  a  stranger 
by  this  peculiarity,  and  by  his  generally  alert 
and  suspicious  manner. 

I  am  a  strong  believer  in  the  infusion  of 
fresh  blood  each  year,  and  this  is  easily  done 
by  catching  a  few  stranger  drakes  and  pinion- 
ing them.  These  birds,  if  kept  up  until 
their  wound  is  healed,  and  then  enlarged  in 
good  time,  will  pair  with  your  own  birds 
and  often  become  very  tame.  I  did  not 
find  that  pinioning  strange  ducks  answered 
so  well,  as  they  were  very  prone  to  stray  and 
lay  their  eggs  at  a  distance,  and  their  young 
were  always  shy  and  difficult  to  tame  ;  more- 


SELECTION  OF  STOCK  19 

over,  the  ducks  never  bred  the  first  year 
after  pinioning,  whereas  the  drakes  did.  It 
is  quite  a  simple  matter  to  catch  these  wild 
birds  ;  you  have  only  to  construct  an  ordi- 
nary wire-covered  cage,  somewhere  near  the 
water,  and  with  the  face  nearest  the  water 
closed  by  a  door ;  you  then  accustom  your 
own  birds  to  feed  inside  this  cage,  and  you 
will  soon  find  that  in  winter  they  will  come 
for  food  as  soon  as  it  is  light,  or  rather  just 
as  day  is  breaking,  always  provided  that  you 
feed  them  at  that  time. 

You  have  been  careful  to  leave  the  door 
of  the  cage  open  over  night,  and  have  put 
some  maize  inside  the  cage.  A  strong  cord 
attached  to  the  door  is  passed  across  the 
doorway  and  round  a  wooden  "  runner  "  on 
the  opposite  post,  and  then  to  the  back  of 
the  cage,  where  your  man  lies  concealed. 
Often  during  severe  weather,  which  is  always 
the  best  for  this  kind  of  work,  your  own 
birds  will  be  followed  by  one  or  two  strangers, 
who  in  the  half  light  come  inside  the  cage 
before  realising  their  mistake.  Once  you 
get  them  inside  the  cage  with  their  heads 
away  from  the  entrance,  pull  the  string  and 


2O  WILD  DUCKS 

shut  the  door.  Care  should  be  taken  that 
the  string  is  fairly  high  up,  so  as  not  to 
catch  the  duck's  eye.  Having  got  your 
birds  safely  inside,  catch  them  quietly  and 
quickly,  and  having  pinioned  them,  take 
them,  if  possible,  to  a  cage  with  some  part 
of  it  projecting  out  into  the  water.  You, 
of  course,  feed  them  regularly,  and  are 
careful  to  give  them  some  artificial  cover 
to  skulk  in,  as  for  some  time  the  pain  of 
the  wound  and  the  fright  they  have  had 
makes  them  terribly  shy.  This  cage,  once 
constructed,  is  most  useful  for  such  work, 
and  can  be  built  at  trifling  cost,  and  the  size 
I  would  recommend  is  about  fifteen  yards  long 
by  five  yards  wide,  with  a  height  of  five  or  six 
feet.  Your  own  birds  soon  get  used  to  their 
part  of  the  business,  and,  if  you  are  quiet  and 
quick,  soon  get  over  their  nervousness. 

The  advantage  of  confining  your  captives 
for  a  short  time  is  obvious.  They  get  used 
to  their  surroundings  and  recognise  the  lake 
as  their  new  home,  and  soon  take  to  their 
diet  of  maize,  so  that  when  you  liberate 
them  they  rarely  give  much  trouble,  and 
readily  mate  with  your  own  birds. 


SELECTION  OF  STOCK  21 

One  very  important  point  which  I  have 
omitted  to  mention  is  the  necessity  to  kill 
down  all  rats,  hedge-hogs,  moles,  and  weasels 
in  the  vicinity  of  your  breeding  places.  Rats 
are  the  ducks'  worst  enemies,  and  I  have 
known  one  old  doe  rat  which  had  no  less 
than  sixteen  wild  ducks'  eggs  in  her  larder 
when  she  was  dug  out  and  killed.  All  these 
eggs  had  a  small  hole  in  them,  and  were  of 
course  spoilt.  We  proved  conclusively  that 
she  had  no  partner  in  her  crimes,  as  we  never 
lost  another  egg  after  her  death.  Rats  are 
a  perfect  curse  to  young  ducks,  and  they 
will  carry  them  off  even  when  they  are 
half -grown,  occasionally  killing  two  or 
three  ducklings  in  a  single  night  without 
even  taking  the  trouble  to  remove  them. 
On  another  occasion  I  remember  a  rat  kill- 
ing a  duck  whilst  sitting  on  her  nest ;  the 
unfortunate  bird  had  allowed  herself  to  be 
killed  apparently  without  moving. 

Moles  do  a  good  deal  of  damage  by 
burrowing  under  the  nests,  thus  forming  a 
cavity  into  which  the  eggs  fall ;  they  are 
then  carried  off  by  the  mole.  More  than 
this,  many  a  duck  is  either  put  off  laying 


22  WILD  DUCKS 

or  induced  to  desert  her  nest  when  sitting 
owing  to  the  restless  movements  of  this 
little  pest. 

A  last  word  as  regards  the  numbers  you 
should  retain  as  a  breeding  stock.  This 
largely  depends  on  the  size  of  the  piece 
of  water  you  own  and  the  amount  of  food 
it  can  supply  to  your  birds.  If  your  stock 
is  too  large,  your  birds  will  do  a  lot  of  harm 
to  the  meadows  adjoining  the  water,  and  you 
must  bear  in  mind  that  the  possession  of  the 
goodwill  of  the  farmers  round  is  the  second 
secret  of  success.  Ensure  this,  and  you  don't 
get  eggs  stolen,  and,  better  still,  you  are 
informed  of  the  whereabouts  of  any  truant 
ducks  that  may  be  nesting  away  from  home. 

A  present  of  a  couple  of  fat  wild  ducks 
will  cover  a  multitude  of  their  sins. 


LAYING   AND   SITTING 


CHAPTER   II 

LAYING    AND    SITTING 

WE  now  come  to  the  time  when  the  ducks, 
having  paired,  show  an  inclination  to  look 
for  suitable  nesting  places.  The  drake 
takes  the  lead  in  this,  and  you  may  be  sure 
that  when  you  see  birds  peering  about  in 
hedge  bottoms,  stick  heaps,  &c.,  that  eggs 
will  soon  be  laid. 

At  this  time,  too,  they  use  a  different 
note,  and  to  quote  a  very  apt  term  used  by  a 
friend  of  mine,  they  "  begin  to  talk."  About 
the  beginning  of  February  it  is  advisable  to 
hint  to  the  ducks  where  you  want  them  to 
lay.  If  you  have  any  large  trees  in  your 
paddock,  place  a  number  of  sticks  up  against 
the  trees  in  the  form  of  a  circle,  leaving  one 
or  two  clear  spaces  inside  the  heap.  Then 
make  some  circular  holes,  one  in  each  of  the 
spaces,  and  about  five  or  six  inches  deep,  and 
shelving  gradually  from  rim  to  centre.  It 


26  WILD  DUCKS 

is  best  to  scatter  some  sand  in  these  holes, 
so  that  the  birds  can  more  easily  work  the 
nests  to  the  dimensions  that  suit  them. 
Don't  make  the  nests  too  small  or  too 
shallow,  as  they  may  have  to  contain  four- 
teen or  fifteen  eggs.  It  is  advisable  to  put 
some  short  dry  grass  or  old  hay  near  the 
nest,  and  a  very  little  in  it,  so  that  the  duck 
can  manipulate  it  at  her  pleasure. 

The  principal  thing  to  remember  is,  that 
the  nest  must  be  sheltered  as  much  as 
possible  from  draughts,  and  be  made  well 
in  the  middle  of  the  cover,  as  ducks  like 
darkness  when  they  are  sitting.  Broom  is 
about  the  best  cover  you  can  use  for  shelter- 
ing a  nest,  and  is  most  adaptable.  Practical 
experience,  and  one's  early  failures,  teach  one 
more  than  anything  else  how  a  nest  should 
be  made,  and  yet  often  when  you  are  satis- 
fied that  you  have  selected  a  most  suitable 
spot  for  nesting  purposes,  you  will  find  a 
duck  occasionally  preferring  a  miserably 
draughty  position  for  her  nest  within  a  yard 
of  the  snug  retreat  you  have  devised  for  her. 
The  only  thing  then  to  be  done  is  to  leave 
her  alone  until  she  has  settled  down  to  lay 


LAYING  AND  SITTING  27 

steadily,  when  you  can  gradually  introduce 
pieces  of  broom,  &c.,  so  as  to  shelter  her 
nest  as  much  as  possible  from  wind  and  rain, 
taking  care  to  leave  the  entrance  to  the  nest 
clear.  Young  ducks  as  a  rule  are  the  most 
shy,  and  you  will  generally  find  the  older 
birds  only  too  glad  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  well-sheltered  nests  that  you  have  pro- 
vided for  them. 

Nothing  can  be  better  for  ducks  to  nest 
in  than  the  corners  of  an  outhouse  or  old 
stable,  always  provided  that  you  have  killed 
off  the  rats. 

In  such  places  wind  and  rain  can  do  no 
harm,  and  practically  every  egg  hatches  out. 

The  roots  of  hollow  willow  trees  are 
favourite  nesting  places,  but  a  bit  dangerous 
if  too  near  the  water's  edge.  Many  birds 
delight  in  straw  stacks,  and  if  disturbed  will 
simply  go  up  higher,  so  as  to  be  out  of  the 
way  of  cattle  or  human  beings. 

I  believe  that  if  you  can  get  your  birds 
to  nest  in  outhouses  or  stacks,  you  will  get 
a  much  better  hatch  out  than  elsewhere. 
Last  year  one  of  my  ducks  took  off  all  her 
sixteen  eggs  safely  from  the  corner  of  a 


28  WILD  DUCKS 

stable,  and  a  bird  sitting  close  to  her  hatched 
eleven,  without  a  single  bad  egg ;  and  we 
had  almost  as  good  results  from  birds  nest- 
ing in  stacks. 

One  bird,  after  being  disturbed  from  her 
nest  in  the  side  of  a  stack,  built  at  the  top, 
and  quite  twenty  feet  from  the  ground. 
One  fine  morning  we  found  her  with  four- 
teen young  ducklings,  and  she  appeared  much 
annoyed  at  the  assistance  which  we  gave  to 
the  family  to  descend. 

If  the  weather  is  dry  and  your  nests  are 
well  situated,  your  birds  nesting  outside  may 
do  as  well  as  those  described  above;  but 
given  a  week  of  cold  wind  and  penetrating 
wet,  down  goes  your  average  at  once. 

Last  season  was  a  particularly  favourable 
one,  and  from  the  first  five  nests  (all  sat 
upon  by  ducks)  no  less  than  sixty -five 
ducklings  hatched  out — a  highest  possible. 
Naturally  this  extraordinary  percentage  was 
not  maintained.  We  will  now  suppose  that 
the  ducks  have  begun  to  lay,  an  event  which 
may  take  place  any  time  from  the  middle 
of  February  to  the  middle  of  March,  after 
which  date  they  ought  to  be  laying  steadily. 


LAYING  AND  SITTING  29 

As  they  will  lay  many  more  eggs  than  they 
can  successfully  hatch,  pick  up  some  eggs  at 
intervals  from  the  nests,  taking  care  always 
to  leave  two  or  three  in  each  nest.  These 
eggs  should  be  placed  on  a  large  tray  or 
shallow  box,  lined  with  hay,  sawdust,  or 
other  suitable  material.  It  is  not  advisable 
to  place  them  touching  each  other,  and  care 
should  be  taken  to  turn  them  daily ;  if  this 
is  done  the  eggs  will  keep  well  for  three 
weeks,  by  which  time  you  have  collected  a 
sufficient  number  to  put  under  hens,  however 
small  your  stock  may  be. 

Eggs  left  in  the  nest  will,  of  course,  not 
require  turning,  as  the  duck  does  this  herself. 

When  you  have  collected  a  number  of 
eggs,  place  them  under  hens,  having  first 
satisfied  yourself  that  the  hens  are  good 
sitters.  Eight  to  ten  sittings  of  twelve  eggs 
each  is  a  good  number  to  put  down  as  a 
start,  as  from  this  number  you  ought  to  get 
about  a  hundred  ducklings,  and  these,  when 
old  enough,  can  be  divided  into  two  runs  of 
about  fifty  each.  I  have  found  by  experience 
that  it  is  unwise  to  put  a  larger  number  than 
this  together  until  the  birds  are  about  six  or 


30  WILD  DUCKS 

seven  weeks  old.  Naturally,  the  number  of 
eggs  you  can  put  down  will  depend  on  the 
size  of  your  stock  and  the  number  of  sitting 
hens  at  your  disposal. 

A  certain  amount  of  care  is  necessary  in 
preparing  the  nest  for  the  hens,  as  ducks' 
eggs  are  very  fragile,  and  much  more  easily 
broken  than  hens'  eggs. 

The  following  is  the  method  which  I 
recommend.  Get  any  square  box  of  suffi- 
cient depth,  and  having  cut  some  pieces  of 
sod,  build  up  the  corners  of  the  box  with 
them :  then  cut  a  square  sod  to  fit  the  size 
of  the  box,  and  having  removed  some  of  the 
earth  underneath  the  centre  of  the  sod,  place 
it  grass  upwards  in  the  box.  By  this  means 
you  will  obtain  the  proper  shape  for  the 
nest,  viz.,  a  gradual  slope  down  from  the 
sides  to  the  centre ;  this  will  prevent  your 
hens  accidentally  kicking  eggs  from  under 
them,  as  owing  to  the  shape  of  the  nest  any 
eggs  which  are  displaced  must  roll  towards 
the  centre  or  lowest  part  of  the  nest ;  there 
is  consequently  little  danger  of  any  of  the 
eggs  getting  cold.  After  this,  line  the  nest 
with  dry  moss.  The  sod  underneath  has 


LAYING  AND  SITTING  31 

the  advantage  of  producing  greater  heat,  and 
gives  a  more  satisfactory  hatch  out  than 
nests  made  of  other  material,  and  being  firm 
does  not  lose  its  shape. 

Don't  forget  to  give  your  sitting  hen  some 
ventilation,  but  be  careful  that  no  draught 
can  reach  the  eggs. 

The  sitting  hens  will,  of  course,  be  taken 
off  to  feed  regularly  every  day,  and  you  will 
find  them  give  you  less  trouble  if  you  take 
care  to  tether  them  on  the  same  leg  each  day. 

And  now  to  return  to  the  laying  ducks. 

As  time  goes  on  you  must  leave  more 
eggs  in  the  nest,  as  the  birds  will  soon  want 
to  sit.  A  duck  shows  signs  of  this  by  lining 
her  nest  with  down  from  her  breast,  and  in 
a  short  time  you  will  find  the  whole  nest, 
sides  and  bottom,  lined  with  a  thick  covering 
of  down ;  while  the  eggs  are  covered  by 
what  I  can  best  describe  as  a  thick  movable 
quilt,  which  protects  them  from  the  cold, 
and  the  prying  eyes  of  carrion  crows  and 
other  poachers. 

At  this  time  you  will  observe  the  old 
duck  staying  longer  and  longer  on  her  nest 
each  day  as  she  lays  the  last  egg  or  two,  and 


32  WILD  DUCKS 

you  may  be  sure  that  she  has  fairly  begun 
to  sit  if  you  find  her  still  on  her  nest  about 
6  or  7  P.M.  A  day  or  two  before  she  begins 
to  sit,  her  nest  should  be  made  up  to  its 
proper  complement  of  eggs,  and  it  is  always 
wise  to  keep  a  few  eggs  in  hand  for  such 
contingencies.  The  number  of  eggs  a  duck 
can  sit  on  depends  largely  on  the  size  of  the 
duck  and  also  the  depth  and  breadth  of  the 
nest ;  given  favourable  conditions  a  duck 
can  manage  sixteen  or  seventeen  eggs,  and  I 
knew  of  one  nest,  consisting  of  sixteen  eggs, 
all  of  which  hatched  off.  There  is,  however, 
this  risk,  that  should  bad  weather  come  it  is 
practically  impossible  for  a  duck  to  success- 
fully brood  so  large  a  number  as  sixteen 
ducklings,  even  when  her  coop  is  turned 
away  from  the  wind  and  rain ;  and  it  is  here 
that  large  brooding  hens  such  as  the  Buffor- 
pington  score  their  strongest  point  as  mothers 
to  young  ducks. 

Of  one  thing  you  may  be  sure,  a  duck 
will  not  retain  any  more  eggs  in  her  nest 
than  she  can  conveniently  cover.  I  know  of 
one  case  where  a  duck  belonging  to  me  was 
sitting  on  fifteen  eggs.  All  appeared  to  be 


I 


LAYING  AND  SITTING  33 

going  well,  until  one  morning  a  friend  of 
mine,  on  whose  veracity  I  can  absolutely 
rely,  saw  the  duck  fly  from  her  nest,  close  to 
where  he  was  standing,  with  an  egg  in  her  bill. 

She  flew  to  the  water,  about  150  yards 
away,  apparently  without  breaking  the  egg ; 
but  unfortunately  my  friend  could  not  get 
up  in  time  to  see  what  she  did  with  it.  She 
hatched  out  the  rest  of  her  eggs  satisfactorily. 

I  presume  that  either  the  egg  in  question 
was  cracked  and  she  removed  it  for  the  sake 
of  cleanliness,  or  because  she  felt  herself 
unable  to  sit  on  so  many  eggs. 

On  many  occasions  I  have  noticed  an  egg 
left  bare  on  the  top  of  the  downy  covering 
which  ducks  are  so  careful  to  leave  over 
their  eggs  when  they  go  off  to  feed,  and 
these  eggs,  if  taken  away  and  placed  under 
a  hen,  have  invariably  hatched.  To  the 
best  of  my  recollection  I  have  never  known 
eggs  disappear  from  a  nest  containing  eggs 
up  to  thirteen  in  number ;  but  over  that  I 
could  quote  many  instances  of  one  or  two 
eggs  going. 

This  has  led  me  to  believe  that  the  bird 
above  alluded  to  had  removed  an  egg  from 

c 


34  WILD  DUCKS 

her  nest,  as  she  felt  herself  unable  to  sit  on  so 
many.  A  good  number  of  eggs  to  leave  under 
a  duck  is  thirteen,  and  under  a  hen  twelve. 

I  have  satisfied  myself  that  hens,  however 
small  and  light,  break  many  more  eggs  than 
ducks,  and  for  this  reason  I  do  not  care  to 
give  a  hen  too  many — one  broken  egg  fre- 
quently leads  to  more. 

It  is  advisable  when  once  the  ducks  have 
begun  to  sit,  to  catch  their  mates,  if  possible, 
and  shut  them  up  in  some  convenient  place 
during  incubation,  as  otherwise  they  bully 
the  sitting  ducks  when  they  come  off  to 
feed,  and  you  may  have  the  annoyance  of 
seeing  a  duck  desert  her  nest  just  at  hatching 
time,  as  nature  has  warned  her  that  she 
must  shortly  lay  again.  I  had  one  instance 
of  this  kind,  when  a  duck  which  had  been 
sitting  very  steadily  left  her  nest  when  the 
eggs  were  actually  "spretched"  (cracked 
previous  to  hatching),  and  as  later  in  the 
day  she  showed  no  signs  of  returning  we 
had  to  put  them  under  a  hen.  The  duck  in 
question  never  returned  to  her  nest,  but 
soon  made  another.  She  had  not  been  dis- 
turbed in  any  way. 


LAYING  AND  SITTING  35 

Should  a  duck  forsake  its  nest,  place  the 
eggs  under  a  good  hen  as  quickly  as  possible, 
even  if  they  are  stone  cold. 

I  had  one  case  last  year,  which  I  thought 
hopeless.  The  eggs  had  been  sat  on  for 
about  a  fortnight.  They  were  stone  cold, 
and  we  knew  the  duck  had  been  off  her  nest 
for  at  least  twelve  hours,  probably  much 
longer.  Eventually  twelve  out  of  the  thir- 
teen hatched.  If  you  are  unable  to  catch 
the  drakes,  the  best  plan  is  to  put  food  and 
water  near  the  nest  of  the  sitting  birds,  the 
pan  containing  the  water  being  large  enough 
to  allow  her  to  wash  herself  thoroughly,  as 
it  is  the  daily  tub  which  generates  heat,  and 
assists  most  materially  the  successful  hatch- 
ing of  the  young  birds. 

I  will  now  deal  with  the  vexed  question 
as  to  the  best  kind  of  hens  to  be  employed. 
Personally  I  have  strong  leaning  towards 
"  Bufforpingtons " ;  they  are,  of  course, 
heavy,  and  do  break  a  few  eggs — ducks'  eggs 
being  particularly  brittle — but,  on  the  other 
hand,  they  are  very  staunch  sitters,  quiet 
and  easy  to  handle,  and  not  likely  to  get 
excited  when  other  hens  are  hatching  in  close 


36  WILD  DUCKS 

proximity  to  them.  I  have  tried  lighter 
hens  of  several  breeds,  and  I  find  that  they 
break  as  many  eggs,  and  trample  on  as  many 
young  ducklings  as  the  Buffs,  whereas  taking 
them  all  round,  they  are  not  so  easy  to 
handle,  do  not  sit  so  steadily,  and  have 
nothing  like  the  wonderful  brooding  capa- 
city of  the  Buffs. 

Many  people  put  all  their  wild  ducks' 
eggs  under  hens,  and  do  not  allow  the  ducks 
themselves  to  sit.  I  think  this  is  a  mistake, 
as  nature  gives  to  ducks  far  greater  powers 
to  hatch  their  own  eggs  than  she  gives  to 
hens.  The  daily  bath,  already  alluded  to, 
and  the  mass  of  warm  soft  feathers,  greatly 
assist  in  generating  heat,  and  in  preventing 
the  eggs  from  getting  chilled. 

The  old  duck  treads  more  lightly  when 
going  on  to  her  nest,  and  certainly  breaks 
far  fewer  eggs  than  the  hen  does.  On  the 
other  hand,  ducks  are  not  such  good 
"  brooders  "  as  hens,  and  are  far  more  likely 
to  get  dirty  when  kept  under  coops,  however 
often  you  may  change  the  ground,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  they  do  not  get  to  the  water 
for  the  daily  bath  which  is  essential  to 


LAYING  AND  SITTING  37 

them  ;  and  if  you  leave  a  bath  for  them  in 
the  coop,  the  young  ducklings  will  be  sure 
to  get  to  it  and  probably  contract  cramp. 

Another  strong  point  in  favour  of  hens 
is  the  fact  that  when  you  have  a  large 
number  of  cletches  of  ducks  in  the  wired 
run  the  hens  do  not  kill  them  when  they 
make  a  mistake  and  go  to  the  wrong  coop, 
whereas  ducks  frequently  do.  If,  therefore, 
a  considerable  number  of  broody  hens  are 
available,  the  best  plan  is  to  let  the  ducks 
sit  on  the  eggs  until  they  are  "  spretched  " 
(cracked),  and  then  transfer  them  to  hens 
which  have  been  sitting  for  some  time. 
This,  however,  is  a  cruel  business  at  best. 

The  plan  I  always  adopt  is  to  note  down 
carefully  the  day  on  which  a  duck  should 
hatch,  and  having  satisfied  myself  that  the 
young  ones  are  dry  after  hatching  and  ready 
to  move,  I  catch  the  old  duck  on  the  nest, 
and  remove  her  and  her  whole  family  to  a 
coop  and  run. 

Care  of  course  should  be  taken  to  see 
the  bars  in  front  of  the  coop  are  not  suffi- 
ciently far  apart  to  allow  the  duck  to 
escape. 


38  WILD  DUCKS 

Ducks'  eggs  take  from  twenty-four  to 
twenty-nine  days  to  hatch  as  a  rule,  though 
occasionally  a  lot  of  eggs  that  have  been  put 
down  soon  after  being  laid  will  hatch  in 
twenty-three  days,  if  set  under  a  good  hen. 
I  should  put  twenty-six  days  as  the  usual 
period  of  incubation. 

If  the  ducks  are  well  and  regularly  fed, 
they  should  lay  an  average  of  twenty-three 
eggs  apiece  during  the  nesting  season.  We 
generally  feed  ours  on  maize,  as  it  is  less 
wasteful  than  smaller  grain,  and  the  birds 
lay  well  on  it.  One  can,  I  think,  count  on 
80  per  cent,  of  the  eggs  hatching,  and  of 
birds  actually  hatched  you  ought,  in  a  fair 
season,  to  rear  85  per  cent.  Having  taken 
my  reader  as  far  as  the  hatching  out  of  the 
young  birds,  I  propose  in  my  next  chapter, 
which  I  consider  the  most  important  in  the 
book,  to  deal  with  the  question  of  their 
food,  up  to  the  time  they  are  fit  to  shoot. 


HATCHING   AND    REARING 


CHAPTER   III 

HATCHING    AND    REARING 

THE  time  is  now  approaching  when  the 
ducklings  may  be  expected  to  hatch  out. 
Care  has  been  taken  to  plentifully  sprinkle 
the  eggs  with  tepid  water,  two  or  three 
times  a  week,  whilst  the  hens  are  off  for 
their  daily  feed,  and  everything  is  ready  for 
the  young  birds. 

The  first  sign  of  approaching  hatching  is 
a  curious  opaqueness  which  affects  the  eggs. 
This  is  speedily  followed  by  chipping,  and 
by  placing  the  egg  close  to  the  ear  the  young 
birds  can  easily  be  heard  endeavouring  to 
obtain  their  liberty.  If  all  the  eggs  chip 
and  hatch  together  it  is  a  sure  sign  of 
healthy  birds ;  but  should  they  be  hatching 
out  patchily,  remove  the  earliest  birds  at  in- 
tervals from  the  different  hens  and  put  them 
in  a  basket  lined  with  flannel,  in  a  warm 

corner  of  a  room,  but  not  too  near  the  fire. 

41 


42  WILD  DUCKS 

When  the  birds  are  quite  dry  and  lively, 
remove  them  eleven  or  twelve  together  and 
place  them  in  a  coop,  with  a  small  wire  run 
attached.  Always  place  the  coops  facing 
the  sun,  if  possible,  and  with  their  backs  to 
the  wind. 

Wind  and  rain  must  be  kept  out  and  the  sun 
admitted.  The  latter  will  bring  on  young 
birds  quicker  than  anything.  During  very  bad 
weather  coops  may  have  to  be  shifted  two  or 
three  times  a  day  if  the  wind  keeps  changing. 

A  matter  of  considerable  importance  is 
the  nature  of  the  soil  on  which  the  ducks 
are  to  be  reared.  Let  it  be  light  and  well 
drained,  and  the  ground  undulating,  so  that 
it  may  be  always  possible  to  shelter  the 
young  birds  from  a  harsh  wind.  A  high  bank, 
such  as  that  alluded  to  in  Chapter  I.,  is  often 
of  the  greatest  assistance  in  sheltering  them, 
particularly  when  they  get  a  little  older. 

The  ducklings  must  be  put  on  some 
grass,  as  otherwise  the  hens  will  scratch 
for  food,  and  generally  damage  one  or  two 
of  their  brood.  The  young  hopefuls  re- 
quire scarcely  anything  to  eat  or  drink  for 
the  first  twenty-four  hours,  and  do  little  else 


HATCHING  AND  REARING  43 

but  brood  underneath  the  hen,  though  little 
patches  of  brown  and  yellow  with  a  bright 
eye  here  and  there  form  a  fascinating  picture 
for  any  passer-by. 

The  first  food  given  should  be  a  little  fine 
wild  duck  meal,  scalded  in  the  usual  way, 
and  put  on  a  shallow  plate  outside  the  coop, 
and  inside  the  small  wire  run  attached  to  the 
coop.  To  start  with,  a  little  food  may  be 
scattered  over  the  grass  inside  the  coops  to 
attract  the  little  birds  to  their  meal ;  they 
should,  however,  be  taught  to  feed  as  soon  as 
possible  outside  for  the  sake  of  cleanliness. 

It  is  most  important  at  this  early  stage 
that  the  food  be  not  of  too  sloppy  a  nature, 
otherwise  the  birds  soon  get  in  a  terrible 
state,  and  absolutely  coated  with  their  food. 
This  always  leads  to  their  heads,  eyes,  and 
often  their  backs  becoming  sticky,  and  in 
the  end  spells  a  big  death  roll.  Very  little 
water,  and  that  pond  water,  should  be  given 
during  the  early  stages ;  the  colder  the  weather 
the  less  they  ought  to  have  to  drink,  and  it 
is  often  a  good  plan  to  take  the  chill  off  what 
little  is  given  them.  Don't  forget  to  give 
the  hens  food  and  water  twice  a  day. 


44  WILD  DUCKS 

A  busy  time  is  now  before  the  keeper,  or 
whoever  is  responsible  for  the  feeding. 

The  earliest  meal  should  be  given  at 
about  4  A.M.  or  as  soon  as  it  is  light,  and 
then  regularly  throughout  the  day,  every 
four  hours. 

Be  careful  to  feed  more  frequently  during 
inclement  weather,  and  move  the  coops  prior 
to  feeding. 

The  ducklings  are  now  fairly  started  on 
their  journey,  and  before  following  them  I 
propose  to  describe  the  method  to  be  adopted 
in  the  case  of  ducks  sitting  on  their  own 
eggs.  Visit  the  sitting  birds  pretty  regularly, 
so  that  they  lose  their  shyness  on  seeing  you, 
and  when  the  birds  have  been  sitting  twenty- 
five  days,  go  in  the  early  morning  and  late 
in  the  evening  to  satisfy  yourself  that  the 
eggs  have  not  hatched. 

An  experienced  eye  can  generally  tell,  by 
the  unusually  elevated  appearance  of  the  duck 
on  her  nest,  when  she  has  hatched,  and  some- 
times by  creeping  quietly  forward  the  little 
birds  may  be  heard  chirping,  though  they 
instantly  cease  on  receiving  a  warning  from 
their  mother. 


HATCHING  AND  REARING  45 

Should  you  have  doubt  as  to  the  hatching 
having  taken  place,  a  blunted  stick  put  under 
her  breast  will  generally  reveal  the  state  of 
affairs,  and  if  she  knows  you  the  old  bird 
will  not  mind  this. 

Directly  it  is  ascertained  that  the  brood  is 
dry  enough,  the  old  bird  should  be  caught 
and  the  little  ones  put  in  a  warm  basket,  and 
the  lot  transferred  to  a  coop  and  run,  after 
which  they  are  treated  in  exactly  the  same 
manner  as  those  under  a  hen. 

I  do  not,  however,  think  it  wise  to  give 
the  duck  as  many  young  ones  to  look  after 
as  are  given  to  the  hen  ;  very  often,  how- 
ever, there  is  no  option  in  the  matter. 

Ducks  are  very  cunning  at  hatching  time, 
and  unless  the  keeper  is  quick  and  observant, 
will  frequently  give  him  the  slip,  and  get  off 
with  their  brood  to  the  water,  where  more 
than  half  of  them  will  probably  fall  a  prey 
to  rats  and  pike. 

I  remember  on  one  occasion  being  unable 
until  late  afternoon  to  go  and  look  at  a  nest 
which  was  due  to  hatch  in  the  morning.  I 
found  fourteen  empty  shells  and  the  family 
gone.  It  was  a  very  cold  day,  and  after  a 


46  WILD  DUCKS 

prolonged  search  the  party  were  found  snugly 
ensconced  under  a  willow  tree.  They  were 
speedily  captured  and  brought  home. 

The  young  ducks  are  now  three  or  four 
days  old,  and  have  got  into  the  way  of 
running  out  of  the  coop  and  into  the  run 
for  their  food  and  water.  They  have  over- 
come their  early  shyness,  and  on  the  appear- 
ance of  the  keeper  speedily  show  themselves. 
A  little  fine  crissel  and  flint  grit  can  now 
with  advantage  be  added  to  the  meal,  and 
some  sand,  which  acts  as  a  digestive,  placed 
in  the  water  and  on  the  grass.  Never  give 
them  more  than  they  can  eat.  Nothing  is 
worse  than  stale  food  left  about ;  it  leads  to 
diarrhoea,  &c.,  and  gives  the  youngsters  a 
distaste  for  their  food.  The  food  can  be 
placed  in  long  shallow  troughs  or  on  the 
grass  in  one  long  line.  I  prefer  the  former 
plan,  as  less  is  left  about  to  become  stale 
and  sour.  Care  should  be  taken  to  see 
that  the  troughs  are  thoroughly  washed 
after  each  meal. 

When  about  ten  days  old  the  ducklings  re- 
quire more  room  to  roam  about  in,  and  unless 
you  give  it  them  they  will  begin  to  go  back. 


HATCHING  AND  REARING  47 

Place  five  or  six  coops,  hens  inside,  in  a 
line,  and  about  a  foot  apart,  and  wire  in  a 
piece  of  ground  about  ten  yards  square 
round  the  coops ;  it  is  better  to  give  them 
too  much  room  than  too  little.  It  will 
generally  be  necessary  to  move  on  to  fresh 
ground  every  four  or  five  days  during  this 
stage,  but  much  depends  of  course  on  the 
state  of  the  weather.  It  is  a  good  plan  to 
leave  the  small  wire  runs  inside  the  larger 
runs,  as  they  give  a  certain  amount  of  shelter 
in  bad  weather.  It  is  delightful  to  see  the 
little  chaps  appreciating  their  new  liberty 
and  dashing  about  in  all  directions  in  chase 
of  flies,  &c.  Nothing  seems  to  hurt  them 
at  this  time,  and  I  once  remember  seeing 
three  of  my  young  ducks  devour  a  bee 
apiece  after  first  crippling  it.  I  have  noticed 
a  bird  swallow  a  bee  alive,  and  have  also 
seen  one  stung,  but  no  ill  effects  resulted. 

It  is  a  good  plan  now  to  give  the  birds  a 
little  boiled  rabbit,  chopped  up  fine ;  it 
makes  a  change  from  the  crissel,  and  duck- 
lings must  have  some  animal  food  as  a 
substitute  for  the  slugs,  worms,  and  many 
etceteras  that  they  pick  up  in  their  natural 


48  WILD  DUCKS 

state.  The  chopped  rabbit  should  be  mixed 
with  the  meal. 

One  word  of  advice  before  going  farther. 
Previous  to  placing  a  number  of  coops 
containing  the  old  ducks  close  together, 
ascertain  carefully  whether  there  are  any 
vicious  ones  amongst  them — some  are  very 
savage,  and  will  immediately  peck  to  death 
any  unwary  little  one  which  enters  a  coop 
not  its  proper  home.  It  is  best  in  these 
cases  to  isolate  the  old  bird  and  her  brood 
altogether,  if  you  have  plenty  of  room,  or, 
failing  that,  to  place  her  by  herself  in  one 
corner  of  the  run. 

If  bad  weather  comes  on,  a  pinch  of 
"  Cardiac  "  (a  kind  of  tonic  sold  by  Messrs. 
Spratt)  may  be  added  to  the  food,  but  I  only 
advocate  its  use  occasionally.  The  chief 
point  I  am  anxious  to  impress  on  my  readers 
is,  don't  let  your  birds  get  cold  and  wet ;  if 
you  do,  ground  is  lost  which  can  never  be 
recovered.  A  capital  plan  is  to  cover  some 
portion  of  the  run  with  sacking  or  a  water- 
proof sheet  to  form  a  shelter  against  exces- 
sive heat  or  a  sudden  hail-storm.  The  most 
delicate  time,  in  my  opinion,  is  just  when 


HATCHING  AND  REARING  49 

they  are  getting  their  shoulder  feathers,  and 
if  you  get  them  safely  through  this  period 
the  worst  is  over. 

When  they  are  about  a  fortnight  old 
begin  to  give  them  some  wheat  in  their 
drinking  water  ;  that  known  to  farmers  as 
"  seconds  "  is  best.  I  am  a  strong  advocate 
of  steeping  the  wheat  before  feeding,  as  I 
think  it  renders  it  more  digestible,  though 
this  is  not  so  necessary  if  one  uses  "  seconds." 
The  ducks  having  got  to  eat  wheat  nicely, 
introduce  a  little  barley,  and  by  the  time 
they  are  seven  weeks  old  you  can  afford  to 
do  without  meal  entirely,  and  it  will  be  time 
to  take  the  birds  down  to  the  water  which  is 
to  be  their  home.  The  greatest  obstacle  to 
success  in  rearing  during  the  early  stages 
of  a  young  wild  duck's  life  is  the  extra- 
ordinary knack  they  have  of  getting  their 
heads  and  backs  dirty.  This  is  a  most  serious 
matter,  and  causes  great  mortality  unless 
attended  to.  It  is  generally  caused  by  the 
food  adhering  to  their  heads  and  cheeks ; 
being  of  a  sticky  nature,  it  will  often,  if 
neglected,  cause  inflammation  to  the  eyes 
and  eventually  blindness.  If  once  their 

D 


50  WILD  DUCKS 

heads  get  dirty,  their  backs  soon  follow  suit, 
as  the  act  of  "  preening  "  soon  transfers  the 
dirt  from  the  head  to  the  back. 

This  curse  to  young  ducks  is  most  pre- 
valent in  wet  weather,  and  it  is  therefore  most 
necessary  to  constantly  change  the  ground  so 
as  to  keep  the  birds  as  clean  as  possible  ;  if 
once  the  old  bird  gets  dirty,  it  is  good-bye 
to  the  general  good  health  of  her  brood. 

The  only  remedy,  if  matters  become 
serious,  is  to  get  some  tepid  water  and  soap, 
and  carefully  wash  the  affected  places  with 
a  soft  sponge,  taking  care  to  free  the  down 
or  feathers  which  have  adhered  to  the  skin. 
A  hot  sunny  day  is  the  best  for  the  purpose, 
as  the  young  birds  then  have  every  chance 
of  getting  dry.  If  the  old  bird  is  dirty,  try 
to  allow  her  a  good  wash  in  a  tub  or  small 
tank  ;  she  must,  however,  be  watched,  other- 
wise she  may  leave  her  young  ones  in  the 
lurch.  If  your  ducks  are  pinioned  it  is  easy 
to  manage  this  bath,  and  to  prevent  the 
birds  straying  afterwards  from  their  young. 
When  the  ducklings  are  seven  weeks  old 
choose  a  nice  warm  day,  and  take  them 
down  to  the  water :  I  say  a  warm  day,  as 


HATCHING  AND  REARING  51 

owing  to  their  delight  at  getting  to  their 
natural  element,  they  are  very  liable  to 
overdo  their  bathing  at  first,  and,  should  the 
day  be  cold,  the  casualty  list  will  be  a  big 
one  next  morning. 

At  this  time  it  is  best  to  wire  off  a  piece 
of  land  and  water,  making  the  whole  into 
one  large  run,  and  taking  care  that  there  is 
some  shelter  on  land  for  the  young  birds. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to  bring  down  the  old 
birds,  coops  and  all,  to  their  temporary 
home,  keeping  the  mothers  shut  up  in  the 
coops  for  the  present.  Their  presence  gives 
confidence  to  the  ducklings,  and  their  sharp 
warning  "  quacks "  tell  them  when  danger 
is  about,  and  also  emphasise  the  fact  that 
there  do  exist  such  things  as  gulls,  carrion 
crows,  cats,  dogs,  &c.,  and  that  in  future 
the  young  hopefuls  must  look  out  for  them- 
selves. Willow  trees  planted  at  the  water's 
edge  and  kept  about  five  to  six  feet  high 
form  admirable  protection  from  bad  weather 
and  winged  vermin,  and  also  give  welcome 
shelter  from  the  heat  of  the  sun,  whilst  they 
undoubtedly  add  to  the  amount  of  insect  life 
in  the  run. 


52  WILD  DUCKS 

If  you  wish  to  study  economy  in  feeding, 
an  excellent  plan  is  to  mix  barley  meal  with 
your  duck  meal ;  commence  in  the  proportion 
of  four  parts  duck  meal  to  one  of  barley 
meal,  and  increase  the  proportion  of  the 
latter  until  the  mixture  is  half  and  half. 
Too  much  barley  meal  is,  I  feel  sure,  a  bad 
thing,  and  causes  indigestion,  and  if  expense  is 
no  object  it  is  best  to  stick  to  the  wild  duck 
meal  until  the  ducks  are  weaned  to  corn ;  if, 
however,  you  do  decide  to  feed  on  barley 
meal,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  mix  a  little  bran 
with  it,  in  the  proportion  of  one  part  bran 
to  four  of  barley  meal. 

You  should  get  the  ducks  on  to  corn  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  teach  them  to  eat  it 
in  shallow  water;  they  don't  eat  it  so  fast 
if  this  plan  is  adopted,  are  less  liable  to  get 
indigestion,  and  in  searching  for  the  food 
are  constantly  drinking  water  at  the  same 
time  as  the  food,  as  well  as  a  certain  amount 
of  grit,  sand,  &c.  Ducks  must  have  water 
with  their  food,  and  the  sooner  they  are 
trained  to  take  corn  and  water  together,  the 
better  will  their  meals  be  digested  ;  more- 
over, if  fed  in  this  way  birds  certainly 


HATCHING  AND   REARING  53 

require  less,  and  there  is  consequently  a 
gratifying  reduction  in  the  grain  bill  at  the 
end  of  the  year. 

To  return  to  the  run  at  the  water's  edge, 
let  it  be  assumed  that  the  birds  have  been 
ten  days  to  a  fortnight  in  their  new  home, 
have  become  thoroughly  accustomed  to  it, 
and  naturally  look  upon  it  as  the  place  where 
food  is  to  be  obtained  at  stated  times. 

It  is  now  time  to  enlarge  them  altogether, 
but  before  doing  so  liberate  a  few  of  the  least 
vicious  of  the  old  ducks.  These  birds  very 
soon  take  charge  of  a  certain  number  of 
young  ones,  and  directly  the  wire  is  pulled 
up  will  teach  them  where  to  look  for  food. 
It  is  a  very  pretty  sight  to  see  an  old  bird 
swimming  at  the  head  of  twenty  or  thirty 
young  ducklings,  who  form  a  compact  mass 
behind  her,  and  always  accompany  her  in 
foraging  expeditions.  She  it  is  who  warns 
them  that  it  is  nearly  feeding  time ;  it  is  her 
eye  which  has  detected  a  well-known  figure 
hovering  overhead,  and  her  voice  which  warns 
them  to  make  for  the  nearest  shelter. 

By  this  time  I  am  sure  that  my  readers 
will  be  getting  impatient  because  I  have  said 


54  WILD  DUCKS 

so  little  as  to  the  cost  of  food.  A  golden 
rule  is  to  give  your  ducklings  all  they  will 
eat  during  the  first  seven  or  eight  weeks,  and 
after  that  make  them  hunt  for  their  natural 
food,  giving  them  just  sufficient  to  keep 
them  fairly  fat  and  prevent  them  from  stray- 
ing. It  is  quite  possible  to  get  them  fat 
enough  for  the  larder  by  increasing  the  sup- 
ply of  maize  during  the  last  fortnight  or  so 
before  your  shoot  takes  place. 

I  am  of  opinion  that,  provided  a  man 
feeds  and  looks  after  his  ducks  himself,  is 
in  possession  of  a  supply  of  coops  and  runs, 
and  is  fortunate  enough  to  have  a  suitable 
piece  of  water  of  his  own,  as  well  as  a  bit  of 
ground  to  rear  them  on,  that  he  can  make 
his  accounts  balance  at  the  end  of  the  year. 
In  other  words,  he  will  be  able  to  give  his 
friends  some  very  enjoyable  shooting,  and 
supply  himself  with  a  hobby  of  which  he 
will  never  be  tired,  at  no  expense  to  himself. 
In  support  of  my  statement  I  propose  to 
give  a  few  figures.  The  breeding  stock  has 
of  course  to  be  purchased,  and  for  the  sake 
of  simplicity  let  us  put  it  at  twenty  ducks 
and  fifteen  drakes,  making  an  initial  cost  of 


HATCHING  AND  REARING  55 

about  £7.  In  an  experience  of  some  years, 
however,  I  have  found  that  my  stock  at  the 
end  of  the  season  numbers  practically  the 
same  as  at  the  commencement,  and  I  found 
it  always  possible  to  fill  up  any  casualties  by 
catching  and  pinioning  wild  birds  which  join 
my  own.  On  these  grounds  I  consider  that 
my  stock  at  the  end  of  the  season  is  of  the 
same  value  as  at  the  beginning,  and  that  one 
side  of  my  account  balances  the  other. 

The  stock  fed  on  maize  will  cost  about 
I2s.  6d.  a  month,  and,  supposing  that  the 
first  birds  are  hatched  out  about  the  middle 
of  April,  and  practically  all,  except  a  very 
few  retained  for  breeding  purposes  and  some 
immature  birds,  are  killed  the  first  week  in 
September,  this  calculation  brings  the  price 
of  feeding  the  breeding  stock  for  seven  and 
a  half  months  to  £4,  135.  9d. 

Now  for  the  food  of  the  young  birds. 
I  assume  that  from  the  above-mentioned 
stock  about  250  ducklings  will  be  reared, 
and,  taking  an  average  of  several  years,  their 
food  from  the  date  of  hatching  (mid  April) 
to  early  September  works  out  roughly  at  £16. 
This  includes  wild  duck  meal,  wheat,  barley, 


56  WILD  DUCKS 

and  barley  meal,  a  little  maize,  and  the  many 
etceteras,  such  as  crissel,  grit,  and  cardiac. 

To  this  should  be  added  a  little  extra  for 
the  feeding  of  the  immature  birds,  which  are 
not  quite  ready  for  killing.  Put  this  at  155. 

In  addition  there  is  still  the  expense  of 
sitting  hens  :  if  twenty  hens  are  purchased 
at  35.  each  and  afterwards  sold  at  2s.,  this 
item  will  work  out  as  an  expenditure  of  £1. 
They  have  of  course  to  be  fed,  but  their 
food  —  maize  is  the  best  —  has  been  taken 
from  the  food  purchased  for  the  ducks,  so 
that  no  further  amount  has  to  be  charged 
under  this  heading. 

The  debit  side  of  the  account  will  now 
work  out  as  follows  :  — 

Food  for  ducklings  .         .  .  .  .^1600 

Food  for  old  birds  .          .  .  .  .4139 

Extra  food  alluded  to  above  .  .  .       0150 

Expenses  for  sitting  hens  .  .  .  .100 


As  against  these  figures  there  are  250 
young  ducks  for  sale  :  deduct  from  this 
number  fifteen  for  casualties  of  various 
kinds,  such  as  dead  birds  unpicked  at  the 


HATCHING  AND  REARING  57 

shoot,  odd  birds  that  may  stray  and  be 
killed,  &c.,  and  this  gives  235.  If  the 
birds  are  properly  fed  a  game-dealer  will 
be  glad  to  give  2s.  each  for  them,  especially 
if  the  shoot  is  timed  to  fit  some  popular 
function,  such  as  Doncaster  Races  ;  so  that 
the  credit  side  of  the  account  shows  a  sum 
of  £23,  i os.  for  the  sale  of  235  birds,  giving 
a  small  surplus  of  rather  over  £i,  which 
can  be  used  to  meet  incidental  expenses,  such 
as  purchase  of  wire,  &c.  Each  young  bird 
will  cost  about  is.  3^d.  to  rear,  and  will  sell 
for  2s.,  leaving  8^d.  a  bird  profit  with  which 
to  meet  the  other  expenses.  Many  of  my 
readers  may  think  the  margin  of  fifteen  birds 
set  apart  as  casualties  far  too  small,  but  I 
can  assure  them  that,  so  far  with  me,  it  has 
never  reached  that  number,  and  need  not  do  so 
provided  the  birds  are  kept  at  home  by  proper 
feeding,  and  the  right  people  propitiated. 

Naturally  one  does  not  sell  all  one's  ducks, 
or  anything  like  it.  Some  are  given  to  the 
friends  who  come  to  the  shoot,  and  many 
are  given  to  the  farmers  round,  but  in  con- 
sidering accounts,  I  think  I  am  justified  in 
including  the  value  of  birds  given  away  as 


58  WILD  DUCKS 

one  of  the  assets.  In  any  case  I  have  made 
an  honest  attempt  to  help  those  who  wish  to 
look  before  they  leap.  Ducks  are  very  fond 
of  maize  ;  it  certainly  brings  them  on  quicker 
than  anything  else,  and  I  have  had  young 
drakes  of  the  year  in  full  plumage  on 
August  i,  when  maize  has  been  the  only 
corn  used.  It  is,  however,  too  fattening,  I 
think,  and  a  bit  apt  to  make  the  birds  lazy. 
I  do  not  believe  that  birds  fed  solely  on 
maize  fly  so  well  or  are  as  good  for  the 
table  as  those  whose  diet  is  composed  of  a 
mixture  of  wheat,  barley,  and  maize.  The 
birds  must  be  encouraged  to  seek  their 
natural  food,  as  only  by  this  means  will  the 
wild  duck's  flavour  be  retained. 

The  birds  must  be  fed  at  regular  hours, 
as  this  is  the  only  guarantee  that  they  will 
be  at  home  when  wanted. 

I  hope  that  in  this  chapter  I  have  suc- 
ceeded in  showing  how  wild  ducks  can  be 
fed  in  the  best  and  also  most  economical 
manner,  and  I  shall  endeavour  in  the  con- 
cluding one  to  give  my  readers  some  hints 
as  to  how  the  birds  can  be  made  to  show 
reasonably  good  sport. 


SHOOTING 


CHAPTER   IV 

SHOOTING 

THE  chief  difficulty  confronting  a  host  who 
desires  to  give  his  guests  good  sport  lies  in 
the  fact  that  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  get  young 
hand-reared  wild  ducks  to  fly  well,  and  I 
propose  in  this  chapter  to  endeavour  to  show 
how  it  can  best  be  done. 

I  say  young  birds,  as  I  think  it  will  be 
admitted  that  wild  duck,  if  shot  in  late 
October  or  November,  will  nearly  always 
fly  well.  Many  sportsmen  will,  however, 
for  various  reasons,  not  want  to  keep  their 
birds  so  long,  either  on  the  score  of  expense 
or  for  fear  of  their  straying  from  home. 
Young  wild  ducks  hatched  about  the  second 
week  in  April  should,  if  properly  fed,  be  in 
good  plumage  and  fit  to  shoot  by  the  first 
week  in  September ;  and  why,  their  owner 
naturally  asks,  should  they  go  on  eating 
their  heads  off  when  they  are  ready  to  be 

61 


62  WILD  DUCKS 

shot  and  eaten  themselves.  Partridge  driv- 
ing has  not  begun  and  the  first  edge  has 
been  taken  off  the  grouse,  so  why  should 
not  the  ducks  be  shot  now ;  moreover,  if 
fed  well  they  will  fetch  a  good  price  in  the 
market  at  this  time,  as  they  will  be  in  the 
nature  of  a  treat  so  early  in  the  season. 
The  methods  of  shooting  hand-reared  wild 
ducks  may  be  divided  into  four : — 

1.  Posting  the  guns  at  different  spots  on 
the  margin  of  a  lake  or  near  it,  and  flushing 
the  ducks  by  means  of  dogs  and  beaters. 

2.  Teaching    the  ducks    to  take  a  parti- 
cular  line  of  flight  by  means  of  a  horn,  and 
then,  without  using  the  horn  on  the  day  of 
the  shoot,   intercepting    them   during   their 
flight. 

3.  Catching  the  ducks  beforehand,  liberat- 
ing them   in  convenient  numbers,  and  then 
driving  them  over  the  guns. 

4.  Flight  shooting. 

To  deal  first  of  all  with  No.  i  method. 
Let  it  be  imagined  that  the  host  is  fortunate 
enough  to  possess  a  lake  or  piece  of  marshy 
ground  of  considerable  extent,  and  bordered 
by  reeds  or  flags,  which  form  good  cover. 


SHOOTING  63 

Possibly  the  lake  may  narrow  at  some  part, 
and  if  so  our  host's  dispositions  are  easy ;  he 
places  his  guns  on  either  shore  at  the  "  neck," 
and  if  there  is  room  he  fastens  a  punt  in 
the  water,  midway  between  the  guns  on  land. 
A  second  line  of  guns  might,  of  course,  be 
placed  farther  back. 

If  the  lake  winds  about  a  good  deal  the 
ducks  will  probably  cut  across  country,  and 
in  any  case  can  be  easily  made  to  do  so  by 
being  flagged  in  or  by  being  fed  in  a  certain 
direction ;  there  will  very  likely  be  some 
belt  of  trees  in  their  line  of  flight,  and  if  so 
some  delightful  sport  may  be  had  at  high 
birds,  the  guns  being  placed  in  the  open  and 
well  back  from  the  trees,  unless  the  birds 
are  very  shy. 

When  the  dispositions  of  the  host  are 
made,  spaniels  and  keepers  will  beat  the 
rushes  on  either  side  of  the  lake,  driving  the 
ducks  over  the  guns,  and  the  dogs  can  then 
be  taken  to  the  farther  end  and  a  return 
drive  given  when  the  ducks  have  been  over 
the  guns  once ;  the  latter  will  probably  have 
to  conceal  themselves  for  this  return  drive, 
as  the  birds  will  now  be  more  wary,  and 


64  WILD  DUCKS 

many  that  have  not  settled  at  the  farther 
end  of  the  lake  may  be  circling  high  over- 
head. 

After  a  time  it  will  probably  be  necessary 
to  rest  the  birds  for  an  hour  or  two  for  fear 
of  driving  them  clean  away.  Don't  forget 
when  the  shoot  is  over  to  have  a  thorough 
hunt  for  dead  birds  and  cripples ;  the  "  pick 
up  "  is  always  a  big  one,  as  very  few  birds 
are  missed  entirely.  The  best  time  to  shoot 
at  a  high-flying  duck  is  just  after  he  has 
passed  overhead,  as  then  the  shot  gets  behind 
the  feathers  and  penetrates  more  easily. 

The  best  shot  to  use  is,  I  think,  No.  4. 

The  disadvantages  of  the  above  plan  are : 
(a)  all  the  birds  are  frightened  badly,  and 
some  are  sure  to  be  lost ;  (£)  some  birds, 
which  strictly  speaking  are  barely  ready,  are 
certain  to  be  shot. 

Many  a  good  day's  sport  have  I  enjoyed 
with  the  ducks  in  India.  In  the  North- 
West  Provinces,  where  I  was  once  quartered, 
there  are  a  number  of  "jheels"  or  huge 
lakes,  and  during  the  cold  weather  these  are 
tenanted  by  countless  wildfowl  of  nearly 
every  variety.  The  plan  usually  adopted  is  to 


SHOOTING  65 

post  the  guns  some  distance  apart  and  where 
they  can  best  command  the  favourite  feeding 
grounds  of  the  birds ;  natives  are  then  sent 
to  different  parts  of  the  lake  to  stir  the  fowl 
and  afterwards  to  keep  them  on  the  move, 
should  they  settle  at  a  distance  from  where 
the  guns  are  placed.  Well  I  remember  the 
keen  pleasure,  not  unmixed  with  anxiety, 
with  which  I  received  an  invitation  to  shoot 
a  celebrated  "jheel"  which  had  not  been 
disturbed  that  season.  Ten  guns,  I  was 
told,  were  coming.  Now  I  knew  that  there 
were  not  more  than  half-a-dozen  really  safe 
guns  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  and  I 
determined  that  in  my  case  discretion  should 
be  the  better  part  of  valour.  I  accepted  the 
invitation  with  certain  mental  reservations. 

Arrived  at  the  rendezvous,  I  found  an  old 
friend  and  good  shot ;  in  addition  several 
good  fellows,  some  of  whom,  though  charm- 
ing from  a  social  point  of  view,  plainly 
showed  by  the  rather  defiant  manner  in 
which  they  handled  their  guns  that  they  were 
best  avoided  on  the  present  occasion.  For- 
tunately for  my  friend  and  myself  we  were 
rather  short  of  boats,  so  with  apparent  good 

E 


66  WILD  DUCKS 

nature  we  insisted  on  staying  on  shore,  where 
we  could  get  well  out  of  range  if  necessary. 
We  speedily  secreted  ourselves  amongst  some 
tall  reeds,  and  well  away  from  the  direction 
towards  which  the  fleet  of  boats  was  making. 
One  of  these,  strongly  resembling  a  three- 
decker,  had  three  guns  on  board,  all  of  whom 
stood  upright  throughout  the  action.  Her 
we  christened  the  Man  of  War.  The  smaller 
craft  skirmished  in  her  vicinity,  and  for  two 
hours  the  battle  raged  furiously.  No  dis- 
tance was  too  great,  no  waterfowl  too  small 
or  insignificant  for  their  attention ;  but  en- 
durance has  its  limits,  and  at  last  we  noticed 
that  even  the  Man  of  PFar  was  silenced, 
having  fired  upwards  of  600  rounds.  Slowly 
and  solemnly  the  "  Fleet "  worked  its  way 
back  to  tiffin. 

In  the  meantime  my  friend  and  I  had 
some  capital  sport,  killing  several  pintail 
before  these  birds,  always  the  first  to  leave, 
had  finally  departed.  In  addition  we  got 
some  grey  duck,  gadwall,  and  a  number  of 
garganey  and  pochard.  Later,  when  the 
boats  had  all  left  the  "jheel,"  the  fowl 
slowly  began  to  return,  and  we  now  realised 


SHOOTING  67 

with  satisfaction  that  we  were  well  placed. 
Never  have  I  had  better  sport  or  enjoyed 
myself  more,  and  when  at  length  we  were 
peremptorily  informed  that  the  return  train 
was  shortly  due  (and  even  Indian  trains  don't 
wait  for  one  more  than  half-an-hour),  we 
staggered  into  the  little  wayside  station, 
followed  by  our  coolies,  carrying  enough 
ducks  to  feed  the  station  for  a  week.  The 
second  method  has  now  to  be  dealt  with. 

Nothing  is  easier  than  to  accustom  the 
ducks  to  come  to  feed  at  stated  times. 

At  first  a  horn  may  be  used  and  then 
gradually  dropped,  and  in  a  very  short  time 
the  birds  will  know  the  time  of  day  as  well 
as  their  feeder  does ;  the  latter  must  be  stern 
with  them,  absolutely  declining  to  feed  them 
except  at  the  regular  hours,  one  of  which 
will  be  timed  to  suit  the  hour  it  is  intended 
to  commence  the  shoot.  Before  commencing 
this  tuition  the  host  will  have  to  select  the 
place  from  which  he  wishes  the  birds  to  fly, 
and  also  the  feeding  ground  which  is  the  end 
of  their  journey. 

Ducks  prefer  to  rest  during  the  day,  and 
are  very  fond  of  shade  ;  provide  them,  there- 


68  WILD  DUCKS 

fore,  if  possible,  with  a  plantation  on  some 
sloping  ground  fairly  near  water,  where 
they  can  get  shelter  from  sun  and  wind.  I 
have  found  willows  excellent  for  this  pur- 
pose, as  by  topping  they  can  always  be  kept 
at  the  required  height.  Such  a  spot  will  do 
admirably  as  jumping-off  place,  and  here  the 
birds  may  regularly  be  expected  to  rest  after 
their  night's  wandering  in  search  of  food. 
The  next  step  is  to  select  the  feeding  ground, 
which  should  be  some  little  distance  from 
the  spot  described ;  preferably  it  should  be 
on  high  ground,  so  that  the  ducks  in  their 
flight  have  to  pass  over  some  sort  of  valley 
situated  between  the  two  places.  In  this 
valley  the  guns  are  placed  shortly  before  the 
feeding  hour,  and  as  that  time  approaches 
small  detachments  of  ducks  will  wing  their 
way  across  the  valley  for  their  meal,  and 
give  most  sporting  shots.  It  is,  of  course, 
essential  that  the  resting-place  by  day  and 
the  feeding  ground  are  not  too  close  to- 
gether, as  if  this  is  the  case  many  birds 
hearing  the  firing  close  at  hand  may  be 
scared  from  coming  to  their  food. 

After  this  the  birds  may  be  driven  back 


SHOOTING  69 

the  reverse  way,  though  naturally  this  prac- 
tice cannot  be  repeated  more  than  once  or 
twice  in  the  year,  or  the  birds  will  be  scared 
away  from  the  feeding  ground  altogether. 

If  the  host  has  a  piece  of  water  at  right  angles 
to  the  flight  of  the  birds  many  will  scatter 
after  passing  the  guns  and  settle ;  and  later 
on  these  birds  can  be  driven  up  and  down 
the  water  as  described  in  the  first  method. 

One  great  advantage  of  the  first  stage  of 
this  plan  is  that  the  birds  mostly  fall  on  dry 
land  and  are  easily  retrieved.  If  the  ground 
does  not  lend  itself  favourably  for  high 
birds  the  difficulty  can  be  largely  over- 
come by  planting  a  belt  of  trees  and  then 
placing  the  guns  in  the  open  a  little  distance 
back  ;  birds  inclined  to  break  out  at  the  sides 
can  easily  be  flagged  in. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  run  some  wire  along 
the  slope  of  the  ducks'  resting  place,  as  it 
facilitates  their  rising  at  once,  and  they  get 
into  the  habit  of  flying  the  whole  distance 
instead  of  walking  part  of  it. 

The  third  system  has  now  to  be  considered. 
It  is  the  most  artificial  of  all,  and  is  most 
suitable  in  cases  where  the  ground  does  not 


70  WILD  DUCKS 

lend  itself  well  for  high  birds,  or  the  host  is 
not  a  man  of  unlimited  means,  but  is  fortu- 
nate enough  to  have  the  shooting  rights  over 
a  fine  stretch  of  water.  The  ducks  probably 
vary  considerably  in  size  and  age,  as  the 
owner,  not  having  a  large  breeding  stock, 
has  not  been  able  to  put  down  a  large  num- 
ber of  eggs  at  once. 

The  time  has,  however,  come,  when  he  has 
sufficient  to  give  his  friends  a  very  nice  shoot. 
It  is,  of  course,  undesirable  to  frighten  or 
damage  either  the  pinioned  or  immature 
birds,  and  these  latter  will  have  to  be  sorted 
from  those  which  are  fit  to  kill. 

The  first  step  will  be  to  accustom  the  birds 
to  feed  inside  a  wire  enclosure,  with  some 
dark  building,  such  as  a  barn  or  stable,  at  one 
end  of  the  enclosure,  and  connected  with  it 
by  means  of  a  door.  The  birds  all  having 
been  coaxed  inside  the  enclosure  to  feed,  shut 
the  door  of  the  enclosure  quietly,  and  gradu- 
ally drive  the  birds  into  the  dark  building. 
Here  the  birds  will  be  left  all  night,  and 
owing  to  the  darkness  will  not  damage  them- 
selves. A  certain  amount  of  ventilation  and 
some  water  will  be  necessary. 


SHOOTING  71 

It  is  a  bad  plan  to  give  them  any  food 
beyond  a  light  meal  the  evening  they  are 
caught,  and  certainly  nothing  next  morning, 
as  otherwise  they  will  fly  badly  and  heavily 
when  liberated. 

Next  morning,  those  ducks  that  are  fit  to 
shoot  will  be  separated  from  the  pinioned 
birds  and  those  that  are  immature,  and  these 
latter  can  be  conveyed  in  hampers  to  any 
convenient  building,  and  fed. 

They  will  be  kept  in  confinement  during 
the  shoot. 

Now  for  the  shoot  itself.  The  man  who 
feeds  the  ducks  has  for  a  considerable  time 
trained  the  ducks  to  fly  in  and  out  of  the 
paddock  or  yard,  in  which  the  enclosure  is 
situated.  This  is  easily  done  by  stretching 
a  piece  of  wire,  which  can  be  gradually  in- 
creased in  height,  across  the  boundary  of  the 
paddock  into  which  the  ducks  come  for  their 
food.  They  soon  get  accustomed  to  this 
wire,  and  realise  they  will  get  no  supper  if 
they  don't  take  the  trouble  to  fly. 

As  has  already  been  mentioned,  the  owner 
of  the  ducks  has  the  shooting  rights  over  a 
fine  piece  of  water,  and  on  this  water,  and  in 


72  WILD  DUCKS 

the  cover  which  grows  round  it,  the  birds 
pass  the  time  between  their  feeding  hours. 
There  is  sure  to  be  a  line  of  willow  trees  of 
some  sort  or  other  near  the  water's  edge,  and 
it  is  over  these  the  ducks  must  be  made  to  fly. 
Provided  that  a  small  clump  of  low  willows, 
or  other  cover,  is  planted  some  distance  from 
the  rearing  field,  with  the  high  willow  trees 
standing  between  the  two,  it  is  quite  easy,  by 
occasionally  feeding  in  this  little  cover,  to 
accustom  the  birds  to  look  on  it  as  their 
sanctuary,  and  when  liberated  from  their  en- 
forced confinement  they  will  make  straight 
for  it,  and  over  the  tops  of  the  intervening 
trees.  All  that  has  to  be  done  now  is  to 
place  the  guns  between  the  tall  willow  trees 
and  the  little  cover,  but  well  in  the  open,  so 
that  the  ducks  may  see  them  and  be  induced 
to  rise  higher  in  consequence. 

A  little  false  cover  can  now  be  put  along 
the  wire  before  alluded  to  at  the  edge  of  the 
rearing  field,  to  make  the  birds  rise  better, 
and  to  prevent  the  guns  from  getting  any 
inkling  of  your  plan  of  operations. 

All  is  now  ready,  and  at  a  given  signal 
the  birds  which  have  been  shut  up  all 


SHOOTING  73 

night  will  be  liberated  in  detachments  of 
varied  numbers,  first  from  the  dark  build- 
ing, and  secondly  from  the  wire  enclosure. 
Thoroughly  frightened  with  their  unaccus- 
tomed imprisonment,  they  take  wing  at  once, 
and  make  the  best  of  their  way  to  the  sanc- 
tuary, giving  the  guns  most  sporting  shots. 
Should  the  wind  be  across  their  line  of  flight 
to  the  sanctuary,  you  will  of  course  have  to 
flag  them  in,  as  ducks  always  rise  up  wind, 
and  love  to  fly  against  it ;  nothing  they  detest 
so  much  as  getting  their  feathers  ruffled.  It 
will  be  found  that  they  always  fly  best  on  a 
dull  stormy  day. 

The  piece  of  water  behind  the  guns  should 
preferably  run  at  right  angles  to  the  line  of 
flight  of  the  birds  from  the  paddock  to  their 
sanctuary,  as  after  the  birds  have  passed  the 
guns  they  will  split  up  right  and  left,  and 
settle  at  one  end  or  the  other.  The  guns 
will  next  be  placed  so  as  to  command  the 
water  from  bank  to  bank,  one  of  them  being 
placed,  if  necessary,  in  a  boat  moored  for  the 
purpose  in  midstream. 

The  ducks  are  now  driven  over  the  guns 
again,  down  wind  for  choice,  and  this  can  be 


74  WILD  DUCKS 

followed  by  a  return  drive,  which  ends  the 
day's  sport. 

An  hour  later  some  one  must  search  the 
lake  thoroughly  for  cripples,  and  when  this 
has  been  done  the  breeding  stock  and  im- 
mature birds  should  be  released. 

A  modification  of  this  plan  may  be  tried, 
though  I  do  not  recommend  it.  Instea4  of  the 
birds  being  liberated  from  the  enclosure  as 
already  described,  they  are  caught,  placed  in 
hampers,  and  conveyed  to  some  convenient 
spot  at  a  distance  from  home,  and  then  liber- 
ated in  the  numbers  required.  The  birds  natu- 
rally fly  straight  home,  and  sometimes  fly  well. 
Care  must  be  taken  to  set  them  free  amongst 
surroundings  they  know,  otherwise  they  are 
cowed  like  a  rabbit  liberated  away  from  its 
burrow.  It  is  also  advisable  to  place  some 
obstacle  across  their  line  of  flight,  and  about 
sixty  yards  in  front  of  the  guns,  so  as  to  make 
the  birds  rise  well.  The  last  plan  has  the 
obvious  disadvantage  that  the  ducks  must  be 
cramped  to  a  certain  extent  by  their  imprison- 
ment in  the  hampers,  and  it  savours  too  much 
of  the  artificial  to  ever  prove  a  complete  suc- 
cess. On  the  other  hand,  the  method  described 


SHOOTING  75 

as  the  third  works  well ;  the  birds  are  not 
crowded,  but  on  being  liberated  are  glad  to 
escape ;  they  are  frightened  and  mean  to  fly 
well :  but  best  of  all  your  breeding  stock  and 
immature  birds  will,  if  this  principle  be 
adopted,  know  nothing  of  the  shoot,  and  on 
being  let  go,  will  settle  down  in  a  very  few 
hours  and  will  assist  in  taming  those  birds 
which  have  been  shot  at  but  escaped.  What- 
ever you  do  be  careful  to  conceal  all  your 
plans  from  your  guns,  when  artificial  methods 
are  adopted  ;  the  day  is  always  more  enjoy- 
able if  the  guests  cannot  see  how  their  host 
manages  matters. 

Ducks  are  extraordinarily  good  barometers, 
and  by  their  behaviour  on  the  water  invari- 
ably give  warning  of  coming  rain  or  storm. 

No  one  who  has  kept  wild  ducks  long  has 
failed  to  notice  their  peculiar  uneasiness  be- 
fore bad  weather. 

Suddenly  one  bird  with  outstretched  wings 
will  dash  mad  ly  on  the  surface  of  the  water, 
and  behaving  much  in  the  same  way  as  a 
flapper  chased  by  a  dog,  throw  itself  into  the 
air,  and  dive  suddenly  on  alighting  again :  in 
a  moment  this  is  taken  up  by  every  bird  on 


j6  WILD  DUCKS 

the  water,  until  one  sees  the  extraordinary 
sight  of  two  or  three  hundred  ducks  behaving 
just  as  if  they  were  mad.  They  dash  in  all 
directions  and  appear  quite  unable  to  control 
themselves.  When  all  this  is  noticed  there 
is  pretty  sure  to  be  rain  within  twelve  hours. 
The  last  but  by  no  means  least  sporting  form 
of  duck  shooting  must  now  receive  a  little  at- 
tention. I  allude  to  Flight  Shooting.  As 
winter  comes  on  the  ducks'  natural  instincts 
have  begun  to  assert  themselves,  and  regularly 
at  dusk,  heads  will  go  up,  and  a  peculiar  un- 
easiness manifest  itself :  very  shortly  the  birds 
will  fly  off,  after  one  or  two  preliminary 
circles  round,  to  the  feeding  ground  they 
have  selected,  though  if  properly  fed  they  will 
not  go  far.  All  that  has  to  be  done  is  to 
observe  where  the  ducks  feed,  and  place  the 
guns  either  in  the  line  of  flight  between  the 
birds'  home  and  their  feeding  ground  or  round 
the  feeding  ground  itself. 

No  sport  is  more  fascinating  than  this — 
the  absolute  solitude,  the  dull  red  glow  of 
the  light  fading  in  the  west,  gradually  getting 
fainter  and  fainter,  the  light  shiver  of  the 
reeds,  as  a  breath  of  wind  rustles  through 


SHOOTING  77 

them,  and  best  of  all  the  whistle  of  beating 
pinions  high  overhead,  betokening  the  wel- 
come intelligence  that  birds  are  circling  round, 
and  making  a  full  inspection  of  the  feeding 
ground  before  alighting.  Don't  move  now 
whatever  you  do,  your  retriever,  sitting 
close  at  your  side,  will  move  his  head  quite 
enough,  without  your  stirring  as  well :  if  you 
watch  him  you  will  soon  get  a  pretty  good 
idea  as  to  where  the  birds  are. 

Presently  the  noise  becomes  louder,  and 
then  with  a  loud  "  swish "  the  birds  come 
right  at  you.  Throw  up  your  gun  quietly 
and  quickly  and  fire  at  once — don't  dwell  on 
your  aim,  and  let  us  hope  that  the  dog  has 
no  difficulty  in  retrieving  a  bird  that  was 
evidently  cleanly  killed. 

Ducks,  like  other  birds,  always  alight  facing 
the  wind,  and  this  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind 
when  selecting  the  stand.  Should  there  be 
no  wind  to  speak  of,  it  is  best  to  face  the 
fading  light,  unless  the  ducks  are  known  to 
make  a  practice  of  coming  from  one  parti- 
cular direction. 

They  are  most  capricious  birds,  here  to-day, 
and  gone  to-morrow,  but  this  all  adds  to  the 


78  WILD  DUCKS 

fascination  of  the  sport.  I  remember  once 
killing  eight  ducks  at  a  particular  spot  one 
evening,  and  not  even  getting  a  shot  the  next, 
although  there  were  hundreds  of  ducks  in 
the  neighbourhood.  Very  different  sport  to 
this  does  one  get  in  the  East.  The  man 
who  goes  Flight  Shooting  there  is  almost 
certain  of  good  sport,  provided  he  knows 
what  he  is  about.  Well  I  remember  a  cer- 
tain evening  in  Upper  Burmah.  It  was  at 
Alon  on  the  river  Chindwin,  and  during  the 
last  Burmese  war. 

We  were  not  supposed  to  go  far  from  the 
Fort,  but  if  we  took  an  armed  escort  with  us, 
no  objection  was  raised. 

There  was  a  large  "jheel"  about  two 
miles  from  the  Fort,  which  was  much  over- 
shot by  the  small  garrison  quartered  there, 
and  during  the  day  little  could  be  seen  on  its 
surface  besides  a  few  whistling  teal,  a  duck 
that  gives  poor  sport,  and  is  only  just  worth 
eating. 

I  discovered,  however,  that  at  dusk  hun- 
dreds of  ducks  returned  to  the  "  jheel "  from 
all  directions,  remaining  there  probably  until 
dawn. 


SHOOTING  79 

Followed  by  my  soldier  servant  as  an 
escort,  I  made  my  way  to  the  "  jheel,"  and 
having  made  our  passage  in  one  of  the  frail 
boats,  known  as  "  dug-outs,'*  we  eventually 
arrived  at  a  small  island  which  I  had  selected 
for  my  stand. 

Never  shall  I  forget  that  evening.  For 
about  twenty  minutes  I  shot  nearly  as  fast  as 
I  could  load,  and  not  too  well,  I  am  afraid. 

Ducks  of  several  different  varieties  were 
coming  fast,  and  at  all  angles  and  elevations. 

Many  an  old  sportsman  will  understand 
my  difficulties.  I  had  of  course  no  second 
gun,  no  ejector,  and  at  times  I  utterly  forgot 
the  motto  "Festina  lente." 

At  last  it  was  over,  and  I  went  home 
moderately  satisfied  with  about  five-and- 
twenty  ducks,  leaving,  alas !  a  large  number 
unpicked,  as  we  had  no  dog. 

When  your  shoot  is  over,  and  the  season 
is  drawing  to  its  close,  the  only  work  left 
amongst  the  ducks  is  to  select  the  breeding 
stock  for  next  season. 

The  best  to  keep  are  long  and  well-fur- 
nished birds,  as  they  always  fly  better,  and 
lay  more  eggs  than  the  short  thick-set  variety  : 


8o  WILD  DUCKS 

they  should  have  rakish-looking  heads,  with 
long  bills,  chrome  yellow  tinged  with  green 
in.  the  case  of  the  drake,  and  dull  brown 
fringed  with  bright  orange  in  the  case  of  the 
duck.  The  eyes  should  be  set  high  in  the 
head,  and  the  head  itself  appear  to  be  slightly 
angular  in  appearance,  and  not  too  round  at 
the  crown.  I  believe  in  fairly  light  coloured 
birds,  as  I  have  always  noticed  that  any 
strange  birds  that  arrive  appear  lighter  in 
colour  than  my  own,  and  I  think  that  the 
darker  and  coarser  birds  do  not  fly  so  well. 
In  any  case  get  rid  of  all  short  thick-set  birds 
— they  will  do  for  the  table,  but  not  for 
sport. 

In  taking  leave  of  my  readers,  I  hope  that 
I  may  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  secure 
a  little  of  their  interest,  and  that  this  book 
may  prove  of  some  assistance  to  those  who, 
like  myself,  love  wild  duck,  and  consider  a 
few  hours  spent  daily  in  their  company  an 
education  and  a  treat. 


Printed, by  BALLANTYNE,  HANSON  &°  Co. 
Edinburgh  &=  London 


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